Excavating tool



March 14, 1944.

H. K. WEINSTEIN EXCAVATING TOOL Filed Sept. 24, 1942 Patented Mar. 14,1944 UNITED STATES PATENT YOFFICE aangaf; n

EXCAVATING rrooL Henry K. Weinstein, Pittsburgh, Pa.` y f l0 jApplication september 24, 1942, seria1N0.459,4s6

1 f 2le1aimis. (o1. 25a- 67) My invention relates tof-,curb box cleanersfor removing dirt from curb boxes'jorserviceboxes whose upper-endsareusually flush with the-sidewalk and in whoselowei` ends;shutfoiifvalves are located in pipe lines that lead from a gasorvwatermain into residences and other buildings. Occasionally the coversVofthese boxes become displaced or loose, and dirt accumulates in theboxes to such an extent as to cover the valve stem to a considerabledepth, and thus prevent access of a long-handled wrench thereto. In suchcases, it has generally been necessary to make an excavation and removethe curb box, so that the gas or water can be shut oi. This not onlycalls for considerable labor, but time is required to secure a streetopening permit from the municipal authorities to do the digging.Meanwhile there may be waste and damage because of uncontrolled low ofwater or gas. Thereafter the paving must be repaired.

One object of my invention is to provide a device whereby dirt mayconveniently be removed from curb boxes, to permit of access to shut-oirvalves at the lower ends of the boxes, without the necessity of makingan excavation and removing the curb boxes.

Another object of my invention is to provide an excavating tool of suchform that the excavated dirt can conveniently be dislodged from thetool.

Some of the forms which my invention may take are shown in theaccompanying drawing, wherein Figure 1 is a vertical sectional View of acurb box with my excavating tool therein; Fig. 2 is a vertical sectionalview showing a different form of tool, and Fig. 3 is a View taken on theline III-III of Fig. 2.

Referring rst to Fig. l, a water or gas line is indicated by the numeral4, a shut-off valve 5 being provided with a stem 6 whereby the valve canbe opened and closed with the usual wrench. The curb box may be ofconventional form with a base portion 'I, a lower tubular section 8 andan upper tubular section 9. The parts 8 and 9 are threaded for relativelongitudinal adjustment, so that the box is adapted for use with pipelines at various depths.

The excavating tool comprises a tubular cutter member II that hascutting teeth I2 at its lower end. At the upper end of the tube II,portions thereof are cut away to form legs I3 whose upper ends arewelded to a coupling member I4. The coupling I4 is threaded forconnection with a tubular stem I5 which may suitably be of halfinchpipe. The stem I5 may be of a length suitable to insure that the cutterwill reach, to the bottom of curb boxes of any length, and may becomposed of several joints of pipe having threaded connection with oneanothen, Atgits upper end, the .stem I5 carries a Kloirxecross I6 or thelike, of standard form, into vwhich pipes or rods I'I may be threaded toserve as handlesforturning the cutter.

An auger bit I9 has threaded connection with the coupling I4 and is heldat desired positions of vertical adjustment therein by a set screw 20.If the dirt is tightly packed in the curb box, the bit I9 may be set sothat it projects a considerable distance below the cutter tube II, asshown in Fig. 1. In such cases, when the bit approaches the bottom ofthe box, the tool will be lifted out and the set screw loosened topermit the bit to be turned farther up into the coupling, so that thebit will not come into contact with the water line in case the tool istilted so that the bit passes the valve stem. The lower end of the tubeII is tapered somewhat, so that it can be moved downwardly in the boxwithout too great interference from gravel or other hard material, andwill not catch on the sides of the box.

In use, the tool is inserted in the box and the cutter tube II, togetherwith the bit I9, are rotated while the tube is being pushed downwardly.Dirt will accumulate in the tube I I and as it becomes filled, it can belifted from the box from time to time and the dirt knocked out of it.While there may usually 4be some loose dirt remaining around the valvestem 6 after a dirtremoving operation, such amount of dirt will not besuiicient to prevent engagement of the stem with a wrench.

In Figs. 2 and 3 I show an excavating tool similar to that of Fig. 1,but wherein provision is made for electing discharge of dirt from thecutter tube 22 which, in this case, has only two legs or arms 23 wherebyit is connected to a coupling 24. This tool contains a scraper 25 thatis of inverted U form and whose legs lie close to the inner wall of thetube 22, so that when the scraper is rotated, it will separate the dirtfrom the inner wall of the tube 22. A cap piece 26 is bolted to thescraper yoke 25 and has upstanding arms 21 that serve as handles bymeans of which the scraper may be rotated. The arms 2`I on the member 26extend radially somewhat beyond the inner surface of the cutter sleeve22,

as shown in Fig. 3, so that it will be vertically ing held at itsadjusted position by a thumb screw 29.

In use the tool of Fig. 2 will be operated to take up dirt in the samemanner as Fig. 1. However, in those cases where the dirt is wet andsticks to the inner wall of the tube 22, upon removal of the tool fromthe service box, the scraper 25 will be given rotative movement todislodge the dirt from the tube, and in case the dirt is of suchtenacity that it still adheres to the auger bit, thethumb nut will beturned to release the bit and allow it, together with the adhering dirt,to drop from the tube 22. When the dirt is wet and soft, rotation of thetool may not be necessary, since by simply forcing the tool downwardlyinto the box may cause Ithe tube 22 to become filled with dirt that canAbe dislodged therefrom upon removal of the tool from the box.

In some instances the nature of the dirt in scraper to dislodge dirtfrom the inner wall of the cutter.

2. An excavating tool for cleaning curb boxes and the like, comprising atubular cutter hav-` ing a cutting edge on its lower end and an openvingthrough an upper portion of its side wall, a

stern connected to the upper end of the cuttezfv for rotating the same,an auger bit disposed. within the cutter and having connection with;`

said stem, a scraper disposed within the cutter and extendinglongitudinally thereof, and an arm on the scraper extending into thesaid open ing, by which the scraper may be oscillated to dislodge ldirtfrom thev inner wall of the cutter. the vertical walls 0f the openingbeing spaced apart a great distance relative to the width of the arm,whereby the arm and the scraper may be given oscillatory movement aboutthe axis of the cutter.

